Two in the Morning
by VisionaryDame
Summary: Kabuto is awoken in the middle of the night because of an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, though he isn't sure as to why he feels this way. When he attempts to get a drink in order to soothe his uneasiness, he isn't expecting someone else to be awake at the same time for the same reason. [Slight KabutoOC]


It was the early hours of the morning when Kabuto Yakushi found himself staring at the ceiling of his room, having been awoken in his bed unexpectedly. His fatigued onyx eyes were void of any sort of emotion as if he was incapable of feeling anything at that moment, and his ash gray hair remained sprawled out on the pillow beneath his head. The only sound he could hear was that of his calm breathing. Despite the weather being somewhat warm in the Hidden Sound Village the past few days, he felt oddly cold, as if a chill had entered his room and stirred him awake, despite his body being covered with a blanket. Whether that non-existent cold was the reason he had woken up from his slumber or if it was something else was a mystery to him, but it certainly did not change the fact that he was not happy about it.

Even though he knew for certain that it was way too early in the morning to be awake, it did not stop him from sitting up in his bed, unconsciously grabbing his glasses along the way and slipping them on, before turning his head to the night stand. The pocket watch he regularly kept with him remained in the same spot he left it before falling asleep, the faint sound of ticking reaching his ears. Before he could stop himself from confirming his suspicions, he picked up the metallic watch, opened it, and looked at the time with a straight-faced expression. Not to his surprise, it turned out to be some time past two in the morning, a time of day that he would rather spend sleeping so he would have his strength for tomorrow instead of being awoken.

"Hmph..." Kabuto frowned, glaring at the time for another moment, before shutting the watch and returning it to its original spot.

He found it both odd and frustrating to be awake at such an ungodly hour of the day, usually sleeping through most nights without too much of a hassle. His days were exhausting enough as it was, especially when much of his time was spent assisting Orochimaru in any way he could. After the events of the Konoha Crush that cost Orochimaru his arms, Kabuto was kept busy with aiding him in finding solutions to the problem, from creating medicine to soothe the pain to tracking down fellow Sannin Tsunade and demanding her assistance, both of which having failed much to their dismay. Eventually, they were forced to resort to Orochimaru transferring into a new body, which would have been Sasuke had it not taken long for the Sound Four to bring him back – not to mention the fact that every one of them ended up dying in the process. Despite all of that and more being piled onto his plate, Kabuto was certain that could not have been the reason why he found himself awake at two in the morning. He did not mind being kept busy, and it was evident in the way he had been sleeping for some time. Instead, it was something else, something in the pit of his stomach that made him feel...unsettled. It was not the first time he felt that feeling, but it was the first time that it was enough to get him out of bed.

With a sigh, Kabuto tossed the covers off his body and got out of bed, grabbing the white shirt he had tossed to the side that night and putting it on. He decided to get a drink in the hopes that it would soothe the uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, though something told him that it probably would do nothing to help. It was more of an unconscious first thought to waking up at two in the morning, and he could only presume it was the fatigue clouding his mind. Either way, he was awake now, and he was greatly annoyed by it. Any possible solution that could help him go back to sleep would do. After he had tied his hair back in its usual ponytail, Kabuto made his way to the bedroom door, opening it and taking a moment to glance out into the empty hallway. Not a soul was in sight – once again, not to his surprise – and he could only sigh with relief as he left his room and shut the door behind him softly. He would rather not have someone wondering why Orochimaru's right-hand man was out and about at such an early hour when he should have been resting like everyone else. Then again, why would anyone be out at this time, anyway?

Not wanting to ponder the thought any longer than he had to, he quietly made his way to the kitchen, the only lighting being the dimly lit torches that lined the walls. They looked as if a light breeze would blow them out, though Kabuto did not want to figure out if that was the case. Seeing them in this manner made him consider having someone change them so the area was better lit, though that was a thought he would much rather worry about at a different time. It was too early in the morning to think about such unimportant things like that, and Kabuto just wanted to go back to sleep.

The trek to the kitchen felt like a rather short one, though time seemed to be slipping his grasp due to his fatigue, and it was not long before his eyes caught sight of the door leading to the desired location. A sigh of relief escaped him, happy to have made it there without any distractions or issues, but that relief was soon replaced with bewilderment the moment he looked at the door again. He stopped in his tracks and glared curiously as he noticed light emanating from around the door frame, bright enough to be seen from quite a ways away. It was a clear indication of two things: either someone had neglected to turn the lights off when they were finished, or someone else was awake as well.

"Who else could be up at this hour?" Kabuto muttered as he approached the door. He would have continued pondering that thought and wonder why they were in the kitchen at that time, but he figured opening the door and seeing for himself was the best way to have his questions settled.

The moment he opened the door and entered, he was nearly blindsided by the light from within, shutting his eyes almost immediately. After taking a second to adjust to the brightness, he carefully took the time to see who it was that resided within and what they were up to at this time. His eyes widened slightly with surprise as he caught sight of a familiar figure sitting at the table, sipping away at what he presumed was a cup of tea. This was confirmed when he spotted a kettle settled nearby, the steam from the liquid inside escaping and indicating it was just recently made, though he did not pay much attention to that. Instead, he kept his gaze fixated on the figure – the woman – whom he immediately recognized the moment her bright blue eyes looked at him blankly.

"Takara..." He slowly spoke, though the manner in which he said her name seemed oddly reminiscent to him questioning if it was her or not. After all, his eyes could have been playing tricks on him.

The woman, Takara Koizumi, slowly set her cup down moments after hearing her name, her expressionless gaze remaining locked onto him. Judging from the way she looked, she appeared as if she had awoken some time ago and attempted to make herself look somewhat decent despite the time of day, though her clothing would have said otherwise. Her hair, the shade of maroon and cut to reach her ears, did appear a bit disheveled, though the choppy style did have a tendency to do that, especially with the way it curled in certain areas. The straight cut bangs hovered over her eyes, making her expression look that much more devoid of emotion, while two longer strands framed around her face, reaching just above her breasts. Her attire, a simple white robe that appeared rather thin, only accentuated her already pale complexion and was tied closed to cover her body. Whether she was wearing anything underneath would have been unknown had the robe not slipped off one shoulder a bit and revealed the thin strap of her black shirt.

The two stared at one another for a moment, the silence nearly setting in between them, before a small, barely noticeable smile graced her lips. Kabuto could tell it was not the smile of sincerity, but rather something else.

"Yakushi..." She responded coolly before taking another sip of her tea, closing her eyes in the process.

Kabuto frowned as his eyes narrowed; he nearly forgot about her refusal to refer to him by his first name, a decision that only slightly annoyed him. However, he paid no mind to it, knowing that was only playing into her favor.

"What are you doing here, Takara?" He questioned calmly. Even though the answer was fairly obvious, he decided to ask anyway. "It's late, and you should be asleep right now."

Takara set her cup down, her eyes remaining closed as she enjoyed the taste of her drink, before she answered, "I could say the same for you, though something tells me you're up for the same reason that I am."

"Which is?"

Her eyes opened as she glanced at him.

"You can't sleep, either," she merely stated, taking another sip of her tea nonchalantly. Onyx eyes remained narrowed as Kabuto continued to stare at her, keeping his mouth shut. After a moment, she chuckled. "Judging from your silence and that look you're giving me, that must mean I'm right. Not surprising, really." As she took another sip from her tea, Kabuto turned to shut the door behind him, careful as to not make any noises to alert anyone else, before turning back to Takara. When he did, he blinked with slight surprise when he noticed her sliding a cup similar to her own over to him while keeping her cup against her lips. "Here," she stated before taking another quick sip of her tea.

Kabuto eyed her suspiciously, remaining in his spot.

"You made me tea…" He said dryly though it was more a statement than a question.

Takara expression deadpanned as she set her cup down.

" _No_ ," she answered sarcastically, "I made you poison so we can sit here and die a slow and painful death together. Yes, I made tea for you!" She gestured with her head for him to come closer, the strands of her hair brushing against her cheeks. "Now, come sit so you can enjoy it before it gets cold."

Rolling his eyes at her behavior, Kabuto did as she told and walked over to her, taking a seat across from her while taking hold of the cup and bringing it closer to him.

"Even at this hour," he commented as he stared into the cup, "you still act like a child."

Takara chuckled as she raised her cup to her lips, her eyes remaining on him.

"I'd argue with you till I was blue in the face about that, but, unfortunately, it's too early for that," she stated before sipping at her drink. "Everyone is sleeping, and I'd rather not wake them up because I started arguing with you... _again_."

Kabuto chuckled as he raised the cup to his lips.

"For once, you're actually using common sense and reasoning to do something good," he said casually before sipping the tea, noting the strong taste of honey with a hint of ginger. "Congratulations. I'll be sure to inform Lord Orochimaru of this minor victory in the morning. I'm sure he will be pleased."

Takara's eyes narrowed at that, but she said nothing as she continued sipping her tea. Her smile still remained on her face as she did so.

Unbeknownst the young woman sitting in front of him, at least as far as he could tell, Kabuto was genuinely surprised by the fact that Takara was acting in such a calm manner, avoiding reasons to start berating him like she normally did when he said something that upset or annoyed her. It was a rarity to see her in this manner, though he did not see her often unless he went looking for her intentionally. She did spend much of her time by herself, meditating outside, relaxing – being lazy as Kabuto enjoyed putting it – somewhere within the hideout, or even cleaning and organizing her room. However, he knew all too well that her behavior was much different when the two were in the same room, and it did not take much to set them – more so her than himself – off. At some point, the two would end up arguing about practically everything, ranging from the most relevant topics of that day to ones that were so unimportant he did not even understand why it was a topic in the first place, let alone why she had become so upset about it. In his eyes, Takara was like a stubborn child and acted like one more often than not. How she was seen as valuable to Orochimaru was beyond him.

Keeping the cup close to his lips, Kabuto could not help but steal a glance at Takara, curious to see if he could tell what she was thinking. He noticed her tracing around the rim of the cup absentmindedly with her index finger, while her gaze remained glued to her drink. Her smile seemed to fall a bit, but even from where he sat, he could still see it faintly gracing her lips. Tonight seemed oddly different for her, he pointed out. Her usual sarcastic attitude was there, of course, but it was not as prominent as it usually was whenever he was nearby. Instead, it was replaced with a much calmer and level-headed young woman, something he did not see too often unless she was either training by herself or in the presence of Orochimaru. He was unsure if putting it off as being fatigued was the best route to go down, as it could have been the exact opposite, though it was still on the table as a possible option to go with. After all, Takara did say that she was in the kitchen for the same reason he was, but what could have been the reason as to why she was up so late instead of sleeping away in her own bed?

It was a question he could not help but ponder as he continued to look at her with an unblinking stare, taking another sip of the tea in the process. It may not have been a favorite of his, but he was not going to complain about a free drink.

"What are you thinking about, Yakushi?" Takara finally spoke up, breaking the silence between them, as she looked at him. Apparently, she knew he was staring, but her mannerisms said that she did not really care about that. "You look as if you're contemplating something, but it's hard to tell right now."

He remained silent for a moment, slowly setting down his drink, as he watched her like a hawk. He contemplated lying to her or at least finding an excuse to avoid talking about what he was actually thinking, though he decided against it and just be honest. She may have acted like a child much of the time, but he knew she was not an idiot…not really, anyway. She would have figured it out sooner or later.

"I'm curious as to why you're awake," he replied truthfully, folding his hands in front of him. "As I told you, it's late, and you should be resting."

Takara shrugged.

"To be honest," she started to explain, "I don't really know why I'm awake."

Kabuto raised an incredulous brow at her response.

"You don't know?" He inquired. For some reason, something in the pit of his stomach told him she was lying, and his suspicions increased when she puffed out her right cheek briefly and shifted her eyes.

"Well, that's a bit of a lie," she slowly responded as though she were trying to find the right words. "I woke up feeling sick to my stomach for some reason. Not the nauseous kind of sick, but..."

Her eyes narrowed in thought and was about to speak again before Kabuto muttered, "...Uneasy?"

She looked at him, a glint of surprise glossing over her eyes for only a moment before nodding once.

"Yeah, that..." She confirmed before glancing at the kettle. "Figured I'd make myself something while I was up to see if it would help."

"Any luck?" He asked before sipping his tea again; it was starting to become warm, so it was much easier to drink. Takara's expression deadpanned once again as she looked back at him, staring at him in silence. When he noticed this, he smirked. "I'm assuming no..."

"Not...exactly," she replied, sipping her tea once more before setting it down and moving it to the side. Kabuto looked at her curiously as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest lazily. "I've been waking up at this hour for the past few days, honestly, without any sort of explanation for it. Figured it was because of the cold, but that's not the case." Kabuto's eyes shifted; odd that she had the same first thoughts as him, but he did not mention that to her. "However, it wasn't until today that I may have figured out the reason why, and I think you may have been the cause of this revelation."

He set down his cup as he said, "Is that so? And why would that be?"

When he looked back at her, he realized her eyes were closed, almost as though she had suddenly fallen asleep. However, it was not long before she opened her eyes again, keeping her gaze on him as she smirked.

"Well, if my suspicions are correct about you being awake for the same reason as myself," she started to explain, "then you're awake because of that same uneasy feeling..." Kabuto's eyes narrowed as he continued to stare her down. "Am I right...?"

He contemplated keeping quiet when she asked that, ultimately confirming her suspicions to be the truth, but instead, he set his cup down and sat back in his seat, mirroring her position by crossing his arms over his chest.

"What makes you say that?" He inquired. "There's plenty of reasons as to why I could be awake right now. Why would you assume it's the same reason as yours?"

Takara chuckled quietly and rested her crossed arms on the table, using them to support her as she leaned forward.

"You may be an enigma to most people, Yakushi," she stated slyly, "but you're not to me. I've known you long enough to see through that charade." She would have laughed at the glowering look Kabuto was giving her, but instead, she sighed with feigning despair and placed her hand on her cheek, looking toward the ceiling. "But...that still doesn't answer the question as to what you could be uneasy about. Which kinda sucks if I'll be honest."

Kabuto raised a brow and smirked.

"What? You're not just going to assume that it's similar to yours again?"

The moment he said those words, he became confused by Takara's expression suddenly becoming void of emotions once again. She remained silent for the longest time, more than likely staring at a random spot on the ceiling before her eyes slowly became downcast as she looked to the floor. Then, after another few beats of silence, she spoke, though it was a response he was not expecting.

"That's not a bad assumption...especially since my uneasiness is because of you..."

Kabuto blinked, taken aback by her words, as Takara slowly looked back at him. Her eyes still appeared to lack any sort of emotion, but Kabuto could have sworn he noticed a hint of concern in her eyes if he had taken a closer inspection.

He was unsure as to how he should have responded to that, feeling utterly speechless over what she had just said. If Takara's uneasiness was because of him, did that mean she was worried about him? Was she concerned about him and his well-being? If that was the case, then why? Why would someone like her to be concerned about someone like him? She proved time and time again that her concern for him lacked in more areas than one, claiming the only reason she even bothered tolerating him was because of how important he was to Orochimaru. Being his right-hand man had that effect, but it did not change the fact that she was more than happy to disrespect and mock him on numerous occasions. To put it simply, she disliked him greatly, and there was no doubt in his mind that she had a good reason for it. Kabuto knew she was not as unique or valuable as Orochimaru believed her to be, her childishness and arrogance being one of the many reasons to back up his claims. She argued with him, mocked him, and blatantly ignored him when she was not interested in what he was saying. He was surprised she had yet to just walk away in the middle of a conversation, though he assumed she would believe that it was her way of saying she gave up, which he knew was something she was not keen on doing.

Recalling that made him frown as he adjusted his glasses. _It's an act_ , he told himself. _Another one of her tricks, no doubt_. That was the only reason he could think of, even though her eyes seemed to be telling a whole different story.

"Why would I be the reason for how you feel?" Kabuto finally questioned, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Takara. "I think of several reasons why that's probably the most ridiculous thing to happen to you in a long time."

Takara's expression remained unchanged for a moment before she rolled her eyes and picked up her cup.

"I'm thinking of those reasons as we speak," she stated irritably before downing the rest of her drink in one swoop. "That's why it's annoying as hell to wake up in the middle of the night for the past few days. And it's worse when you end up making two cups of tea instead of one because of it, thinking that you would end up making your way here out of the blue just for kicks." She pouted as she picked up the kettle of tea before standing up and walking over to the sink, her white robe trailing behind her along the way. "Trust me, I'd much rather be sleeping through the night like a baby than to be worried about someone like you."

"Hmph..." He responded to an expected response, picking up his drink and staring into it. _I guess that makes two of us._ Suddenly, Takara stopped mid-step, as if she had sensed something that caught her attention or she had heard something. Kabuto noticed this and glanced at her as she turned around to face him. He noted the confused look on her face as she stared at him, and his only response was, "What?"

Instead of answering, her eyes shifted away as she shook her head, turning back to walk over to the sink.

"Nothing," she replied quickly, dumping the water down the drain and cleaning the dishes. Kabuto's eyes narrowed; now, he _knew_ she was lying. "Anyway, I'm going to try to go sleep again. You should probably do-" She was cut off as she turned around and jumped when she found Kabuto standing right behind her, his eyes still narrowed as he looked at her. Her gaze glowered up at him. "...the same before you give me a heart attack." She continued, though it was evident she added the last part intentionally.

"I will after you explain that look you gave me," he suddenly demanded, earning a confused look from Takara.

"Hm? You mean the one I gave you before?" She inquired. Kabuto remained silent, but the look in his eyes told her she was correct. Immediately, her eyes shifted once more. "It was...nothing. I...thought you said something, but I must have been hearing things. That's all."

"What did you think I said?" He questioned. He did not really understand why he was becoming so worked up about it. It was not like she heard what he was thinking...right?

It was at that point that Takara glared at him again.

"Why do you care?" She responded harshly. "It wasn't that important, so why would you bother asking about it?" Before she had time to react, she found herself backing into the counter suddenly as Kabuto stepped forward and placed both hands on either side of her, pinning her between the sink and himself so as to prevent her from leaving. Her eyes quickly widened with surprise while his remained unchanged. After a moment of staring into each other's eyes in silence, Takara raised an annoyed brow and pouted. "Someone's a little peeved tonight." She remarked dryly.

"What...did you think I said?" Kabuto repeated himself slowly, fed up with the runaround she was giving him.

Takara crossed her arms over her chest, leaning onto the counter casually. She kept her eyes locked onto his, but she seemed to be a bit more relaxed and unaffected by what was happening.

"What are you going to do if I don't tell you?" She questioned moments before grinning widely and mischievously. "You can't keep me here all night, you know. Someone may walk in and think we're up to no good. And that certainly won't be good for your image, Yakushi." His glare hardened as did his grip on the counter, but he did not say a word as he continued to stare her down. She was trying to avoid the question again, but he was not going to have that. When she realized that he was not going to respond, she sighed. "All right, fine. You got me." She grumbled. Then, she glanced away. "I thought I heard you say something along the lines of 'That makes two of us' after I said I'd rather be sleeping than worrying about you."

 _Shit_ , he cursed himself in silence, his gaze immediately shifting away from her. He made that comment out loud and did not even realize it, only for Takara to actually hear it.

"Which...actually begs the question," she began once again. The two looked at one another simultaneously. "The reason you're uneasy is 'cause _you_ are worried about _me_ , isn't it?"

"Why should I be worried about someone like you?" Kabuto sneered at the assumption. "I have no reason to be worried about you just as you don't have to worry about me, so that idea should have been tossed out the window a long time ago."

Takara shrugged, though she remained silent as her expression turned blank once more. Believing he was victorious, Kabuto was about to step away from her when, suddenly, she absently muttered, "If that's what you want to tell yourself, sure..."

Before he could say anything else to her, Takara grabbed his wrist delicately and returned it to his side, slipping away from him and moving toward the door without saying another word. Unfortunately for her, she did not get very far as he took hold of her arm quickly without having to look at her, stopping her from leaving once again. His grip on her was not tight and was not intended to harm her, but it was enough to keep her from walking any further than she already had. She did not say anything in response and did not struggle against his grip, instead choosing to remain rooted to her spot in silence. It was almost as if she was anticipating it. Kabuto slowly glanced at her, staring into the back of her head with an unblinking stare.

"What's that supposed to mean, Takara?" He questioned calmly, positioning himself so that he was now standing straight while keeping her grip on her arm secure. Despite his now calm composure, he was starting to become irritated with her riddles and runarounds. It was way too early for her to be doing this, and he was going to make it known that he was not having it.

At first, Takara did not move from her spot and did not say a word in response to his question. It was as if she was frozen in fear, but Kabuto knew better than to assume she was afraid of him. There were very few things that terrified her, and his presence certainly was not one of them. However, after another moment of silence, she slowly turned so that she was looking at him. To his surprise, he noticed a faint smile on her lips, a smile that appeared to be a genuine smile rather than one of ill intent or mischievousness.

"Yakushi..." She spoke, turning to face him completely before moving closer to him. Then, she placed her free hand against his, squeezing it lightly and removing it from her arm. "It's two in the morning. We should be getting to bed now and resting, not prepping for an argument."

Kabuto glared at her, unsatisfied with her response. She would say something like that.

"Stop trying to avoid the subject, Takara," he snapped. "Just answer my-"

Kabuto was silenced immediately as her hand – the one that was freed from his grip – suddenly fell upon his cheek delicately, almost as if she were grazing her hand upon something fragile. The action caught him off guard, and he could only stare at Takara with a look of disbelief and bewilderment. He wanted to continue what he was saying, to demand answers from her, but he was left speechless. She, on the other hand, kept her smile on her face, and her eyes seemed to be giving off a sense of reassurance. It was as though she actually believed that Kabuto was worried about her, and she wanted to assure him of otherwise.

"Whether you're actually worried about me or not," she spoke slowly, her eyes staring deeply into his, "the least I can do is tell you that you have nothing to worry about." She paused as her eyes began shifting briefly only for her to look back at him again. "I'm just fine, but you won't be if you stay awake any longer."

When he came to his senses, Kabuto's eyes narrowed.

"Like I said," he stated, "I have no reason to be worried about someone like you."

Takara shrugged as she stepped away from him, returning both hands back to her side.

"And like _I_ said," she responded, her genuine smile changing into a smirk, "if that's what you want to tell yourself."

With that said, Takara turned around once again and made her way out of the kitchen, exiting the room as quietly as a mouse. Kabuto stared at the spot where she originally stood for another moment before he slowly looked toward the door. The look in his eyes gave away that he was trying to process what had happened between them. He was bewildered, speechless, and just unsure as to what he was supposed to say to that.

Deep down, he was certain that he had no reason to worry about Takara or her well-being. She had always been a relatively independent woman as it was, always striving to do things on her own when she was not busy doing her own thing. She rarely needed any sort of assistance – let alone his – with anything that she believed she could handle by herself. Kabuto may have not been on the best terms with her, but he knew well enough to know that she was just fine. She never gave off any sort of notion that something was bothering her. Therefore, he had no reason to even consider the idea that something may have been wrong. If there was, she certainly did one hell of a job at keeping it under wraps and away from prying eyes. Even if he wanted to help her, though, she would just be stubborn and deny it, anyway. Worrying about someone like her was almost laughable; it was unheard of, especially from someone like him. Why would he waste any time worrying about a woman that despised him just as much as he despised her, regardless of how civilized their conversation was that night? Why would he worry about someone who was more than happy to mock him behind his back when he was not looking just for the sake of getting a good laugh? Why would he worry about a woman who only respected him because Orochimaru saw potential in him and his abilities?

After a long moment, Kabuto slowly glanced at the table, eyeing the cup that had been sitting there the whole time, before sighing and running a hand through his hair. It was just as he said: he had no reason to worry about Takara. No reason at all…

...Right?


End file.
